*Africa accounts for 13% of the world's population, but accounts for only 5% of global energy consumption.

*Africa's energy reserves are plentiful: It has nearly 8% of the world's proven gas reserves; nearly 10% of the world's oil; an estimated 13% of hydro-electric potential; and almost limitless sunshine!

*56% of the energy consumed in Africa comes from firewood; it's predicted that by the year 2030, the figure will have come down, but wood burning will still account for nearly half the energy used.

*Africa generates just 3% of the world's electricity; South Africa generates more than 40% of the electricity produced in Africa. More than 25% is generated in the five countries of north Africa.

*Across the continent, one third of people have access to electricity; in sub-Saharan Africa alone, the figure falls to a quarter; in rural areas, the number is even lower: Fewer than 10% can turn on power at the flick of a switch.

Fossil fuel facts

*Fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas.

*They are the remains of forests from millions of years ago, and when burned, all the carbon that these forests absorbed is released back into the air.

*90% of the continent's electricity supply comes from the burning of coal, oil or gas.

*Africa produces about 5% of the world's coal - almost all of it in South Africa.

*Coal currently provides most of the electricity, but by 2030 gas is set to become more significant.

*Africa's proven gas reserves make up 8% of the world total; more than two thirds of this gas is in Nigeria and Algeria.

*About 12% of the world's oil is drilled in Africa, but less than a third of that is refined in Africa.

*Most of Africa's oil is in just four countries: Nigeria, Libya, Angola and Algeria.

* Based on current levels of consumption, the world's currently known oil reserves will be used up within 40 years.

Solar energy facts

*On a sunny day at noon, each square metre of the earth's surface receives around 1 kilowatt of solar power.

*It is said that enough solar energy falls on the earth every second to provide all the world's energy needs for a year - the problem has been how to harness it.

*Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight directly into electricity that can be used in the home, but the panels are expensive to install.

*The initial outlay for a 1kilowatt system, which would give you enough electricity for 20 light bulbs, a fridge, a computer, 20" tv, cd player, mobile phone charger and fan, would be about $8,000.

*For generating large amounts of energy, that can feed into a grid, scientists are now looking at the potential of what's called Concentrating Solar Power.

Hydro & wind power facts

*16% of Africa's electricity is generated by hydro-power; in some countries, such as DR Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia, it provides almost all the available electricity.

*Only 7% of Africa's Hydro-power potential has been developed - compared to 33% globally and 65% in Europe.

* African rivers with the largest potential are the Congo, the Nile and the Zambezi.

*The proposed Grand Inga project on the Congo could produce 40,000 megawatts, enough to provide electricity for much of Africa.

*Hydro-power is a clean and renewable source of energy, but there can be environmental side-effects, such as flooding of valleys behind dams, and reducing fish supplies down-stream.

*Another renewable source of energy with untapped potential in Africa is wind power.

*Small-scale projects are being tried out, where wind-turbines are built to provide small towns and villages with electricity, for example in M'muock in Cameroon.

*In northern Europe, huge wind-farms account for 20% of Denmark's electricity, studies suggest the African countries with the most potential are Madagascar, South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

*The more wind turbines are produced, the more the price comes down wind-powered energy costs just a fifth of what it did 25 years ago.

Biofuel facts

*Biofuel is made with ethanol which is produced by fermenting and then distilling starch and sugar crops such as maize, sorghum, potatoes, cassava, wheat, sugar cane and even fruit and vegetable waste.

*Biodiesel is made from plant oils such as rapeseed and palm oil but only makes up about 5% of biofuels used.

*World biofuel production totals about 130 million barrels a year.

*This is just 4/10ths of 1% of the total petroleum-based fuel production.

*Africa's ethanol production makes up only 1% of the total global output.

*Biofuel is a renewable energy source, but concerns have been raised because the crops needed to make it might otherwise be used for food.

*Plans by the South African company Ethanol Africa to build a string of eight maize-fed ethanol plants at a cost of about one billion dollars have been put on hold because of the current global food crisis.

*Several other African countries have biofuel research projects underway, including Nigeria, which wants to use cassava, and Mozambique, which hopes to exploit sorghum and sugarcane.

Nuclear power facts

*South Africa is currently the only country on the continent that has nuclear reactors producing electricity for commercial purposes.

*South Africa's nuclear reactors generate enough electricity to satisfy the needs of about two million people.

*Egypt has plans to build a nuclear plant and Namibia, Niger and Nigeria, among other countries, are considering nuclear power.

*16% of the world's electricity is produced by nuclear power plants but just 2% of Africa's electricity comes from nuclear power.

*Africa has large uranium reserves - the element needed to generate nuclear power - Niger, Namibia and South Africa are currently the biggest sources of uranium on the continent.

*Nuclear is considered a much cleaner source of energy than fossil fuels but questions over safety and disposal have led environmentalists to challenge its use.

-- BBC World